As Prince Dastan, Jake Gyllenhaal Added Serious Muscle

Many fans were miffed when Jake Gyllenhaal was selected for the role of Prince Dastan in the upcoming Prince of Persia film (based on the well-liked video game). However, in a brief period of time, Jake transformed himself into a well-built, muscular action star.

Prince Dastan Clip
Here is a clip of Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan


Jake Gyllenhaal Workout Routine
Here is how Jake increased lean muscle mass for Prince of Persia.

He had just a few months to prepare for his part as Prince Dastan and exercised twice each day to achieve measurable near-term gains. This technique would lead to overtraining in the long-term.














Twice Daily Training
The rest of Jake's program centered on resistance training and high intensity cardiovascular exercise. Each day consisted of 2 training routines.

In the early morning (at 6AM), Jake performed:

An hour and a half cardio work out outside while wearing a 20lb flak jacket to mirror the weight of armor

HIIT training - 10min uphill sprint followed by abs exercises at the top of the hill

He repeated this series five times, did a 10min jog, and concluded with stretching.

At night, Jake trained from 6-7PM by doing an hour of resistance training with cables to replicate sword fights, press-ups, pull-ups, ab exercises making use of weights and concluded with stretching.

Parkour
A critical component of Jake's training method was the French martial art of Parkour. Parkour involves leaping around roof tops, benches, beams, bridges, and the like. Parkour inventor David Belle trained rigorously with Jake and started him out with gymnastics exercises before doing jumps on more rigid surfaces. Jake was so confident by the end that he performed lots of his own stunts in Prince of Persia, even a 35 foot jump!

Jake Gyllenhaal's Eating Plan
Here is how Jake ate to get ready for Prince of Persia

Jake had a rigid daily eating routine:

5.30AM: Pre-workout snack: espresso, half a banana, and a few nuts

7.30AM: An egg-white omelet, a small protein shake and an isotonic drink to replace salts lost during exercising.

Lunch: Baked potato with tuna and salad

Dinner: Protein shake and soup
Snacks: dark chocolate, no foods containing refined sugar, occasional glass of wine allowed.

Supplements: Two liters of water, protein bars, supplements rich in omega-3, 6 and 9.

Movie Trailer for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
This movie clip is fantastic because you can see how truly huge Jake got for this movie. He actually looks like an action hero!